As a nurse, helping my patients recover from their health-related obstacles provides some of the most rewarding moments of my job. But like any profession, there are challenges we face, and lately, those problems have come from pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).
Working with insurance companies, PBMs often are the reason my patients face higher out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy counter. Instead of prioritizing patients—the way I do—PBM’s focus on what will pad their pockets the most. My patients should be focused on their health, but thanks to PBMs, many of them are concerned about covering their prescription costs.
It is disheartening to stand by as patients deal with the complexities of selfish middlemen, which is why I am hopeful Congress will finally take action.
Reform that requires PBMs to pass down savings from manufacturers to patients has been delayed for too long. Washington needs to take tangible action to protect patients, not PBM margins.
As our lawmakers like Representative Slotkin, Senator-elect, prioritize their end-of-year policies and look to 2025, I hope they keep comprehensive PBM reform top of mind.
Zachery Pearson
